‘Tis the season to bake lots of cookies, so when I saw Gourmet had dedicated a good part of their December issue to the art of the cookie, I was curious to read their baking sheet reviews.
Their winner was a textured sheet like this one by Doughmakers ($9.95 - $23.95).
Apparently, the texture helps heat the cookies evenly, making them perfectly crisp while preventing sticking. The extra perk – since these sheets are Teflon free, the editors noted that they’re also environmentally friendly which got me wondering why, exactly, is Teflon so bad.
A quick consult with the EPA website answered my question. Apparently non-stick coating is made from perfluorooctanoic acid, a man-made chemical that does not occur naturally anywhere and “sticks” in the environment indefinitely; not the most appetizing thought. So as you continue on with your holiday baking, don’t worry if you don’t have a textured sheet, a simple sheet lined with parchment paper will prevent your dough drops of holiday goodness from sticking without that new-fangled perflurooctanoic acid stuff. And you can be sure the paper is perfectly biodegradable.
To buy the Doughmakers line of bakeware:
• Cooking.com ($9.95-$19.95)
• KitchenOutfitters.com ($9.99 - $23.95)
• AlwaysBrilliant.com ($22.99, 2-piece set)
I have one of these textured cookie sheets (one with a sm. rim all around), they're great. I use them for baking scones too. Super!
Textured baking sheets -- what a cool idea! I don't have one, but I do have a roll of parchment paper, which I love using. On a related note, I did find a pizzelle press at Cook's Warehouse! Woohoo!
~Monica